Magic Win, End 10 Game Losing Streak: Thoughts on the NBA for 1/20/14

The Celtics and Magic met last night in the highly anticipated Tank War matchup. The Celtics picked up a win against the Raptors a few days prior, so they were only coming in with a one game losing streak. The Magic meanwhile, had lost 10 in a row. The game went down to the wire, and thanks to a pitiful final possession by the Celtics, the Magic won, ending their 10 game losing streak. Both of these squads are now 1-9 in their last 10 games, but they still have a lot of work to do if they want to catch(?) Milwaukee, who has still won just seven games all year.

(Skip to 1:45 to see the final possession for the Celtics)

Rajon Rondo played in his second game of the year last night, finishing with 6 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He played just 21 minutes again as Brad Stevens tries to ease him back in. There are certainly moments where he looks like his old self, but there’s also possessions where he looks pretty rusty. Also, he connected with Jeff Green last night for a sick dunk.

Sticking with the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Bucks got smacked by the Spurs last night, losing 82-110. It was the ninth loss in a row for Milwaukee, and they now have the longest losing streak in the league (They also haven’t won in 2014.). There were some quotes from O.J. Mayo and Brandon Knight recently the confirm the losing is destroying the Bucks’ locker room. We’ve heard about confrontations between players and now players are openly criticizing the coach in the media. Luckily the Bucks have Giannis and a top pick coming up, because it’s going to be a very long finish to this season.

There were some big time individual performances yesterday in the Kings-Thunder matchup. First, there was Isaiah Thomas scoring a career-high 38 points and dishing out 6 assists. It wasn’t enough, however, as Kevin Durant continued his hot streak, finishing with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals to lead the Thunder to a 108-93 win. Durant has been unreal in 2014, averaging about 36 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists a night. Plus, he’s done it on 50 percent shooting. If you don’t live in Oklahoma City or have League Pass, you can catch Durant on ESPN on Wednesday when the Thunder take on the Spurs.